The Heir and The Librarian
by BrightPinkPineapple
Summary: [Set after BOTFA] Kili was a loud, mischievous, boisterous warrior Prince. He's never had the urge to pick up a book in his life. Until, one day, he accidently stumbles into the library. In his hurry to leave he bumps into a pair of eyes the colour of toffee. And just like that, he succumbs to his sweet tooth and suddenly likes reading. (Rated M for future chapters.)


It was a usual Tuesday morning for Ren. She was in the library where she worked, minding her own business as she was known to do. She was the rare type of Dwarf that wasn't loud, obnoxious and boisterous. She didn't yell and shout and brawl for fun. She didn't yield an axe, sword, or bow, in fact, she was totally disinterested in combat all together and spend nearly all her time in the library amongst people more her type, reading about places she'd never been and was eager to go.

Because she was an adventurer.

Oh, Mahal, how she longed to be an explorer like her father had been, but she just didn't have the weaponry skill behind her. Or the male gender. And it was frowned upon for a female to go wandering about the plains of Middle-Earth just for the fun of it.

When she was little, she and her sister were always out and about in the Iron Hills. Scrambling around the Mountain side and exploring the nearby woodland with their father, and without him as they grew older. Rel, her sister and twin, _could_ wield a sword, but she wasn't as thirsty for adventure.

'Why would you want to go there?" She would say, 'It's _just_ a forest."

Ren pulled a face as she read her book, sitting at the circular desk situated in the middle of the library. If she couldn't _physically_ go on adventures, she could _mentally_.

She hadn't been in Erebor for long, in fact, only a few weeks, despite it being nearly four years since the Battle was won and the Mountain was reclaimed. But it took her family a fair few months to pack up and move from the Iron Hills, as there was so very many of them, most of which were under fifty. Her sister and herself were the eldest of the youngsters, both being seventy-five, but then there was all their cousins, six boys, another girl, and then their Aunt and Uncle. Talk about a full house.

Ren was the opposite of her twin; who was loud, rowdy, and outspoken. Of course, being noisy was the only way one would get themselves heard in their house, they were all always fighting for attention.

But not Ren. Ren was quite, secluded, and actually a little nervous around people who she didn't know. She was so used to not getting a word in edge ways, she sort of just... didn't speak in the rest of her everyday life.

She was so engrossed with her book, she practically jumped a foot in the air when a door across from her swung open so violently it banged off the bookcase beside it, shaking the books and causing a few to fall.

Ren poked her head up over the desk side just as a young Dwarf, maybe a little older than herself, came swaggering out.

"Sorry, Ori!" He called behind him, laughing, but then he looked down at himself, "Oh, Mahal!" He hissed, rubbing at the huge black ink stain that sat on the front of his expensive looking tunic. Of course, he just made it worse.

Ren sunk lower in her seat, desperate not to be seen by the loud, destructive Dwarf as he began stomping around the library. He did this for a few moments, looking lost and confused, before exclaiming loudly to what must have been himself;

"This isn't the Hall." He then looked disgusted, "Ew, it's a library."

Ren frowned, and finally popped her head up.

The young lad's eyes flew to her, his fluffy brown hair wiping around as his face did. And then he grinned, his barely there beard splitting as his smile grew.

"Who are you?" He asked her rather abruptly, nearly taking Ren a little by surprise.

She blinked at him, and then her eyes trailed down to his chest and stomach, where the large ink stain was continuing to grow. The lad followed her gaze and pulled at his tunic a little.

"Alcohol will get that out." She told him in her usual placid tone.

The brunette raised his brow at her, "What, like ale?"

Ren frowned, "_No_? Like a spirit."

"Oh," He pulled a goofy face, "That makes sense."

Ren just stared at him for a few moments, before slowly sitting back down and returning to her book.

When she heard the heavy thumping of boots hitting the stone floor she could only assume that the vociferous Dwarf was leaving, but then a large shadow cast over her and her book, and a loud voice asked boldly;

"What are you reading?"

Ren looked up to meet a pair of dark brown eyes only inches away from her own, and she immediately scooted backwards a little. The Dwarf gave her a lopsided smile.

"A book..." She replied after a few cautious moments, she began to feel hot and nervous under his gaze. Why did he feel the need to ask her that? Couldn't he just _leave_?

His brown orbs rolled, "Even I knew that. What book is it?" And just like that, he reached over the desk and took her book from her.

Ren wanted to protest as the Dwarf bounced the book up and down in his hands, but in the end she thought better of it. She already felt very uncomfortable and agitated in his presence. Sure, he was _friendly_, but Ren didn't like his boldness and total disregard for boundaries. Since when did you just take a book someone was trying to read? How rude.

"Mahal above! It's got a lot of words!" He exclaimed, grinning at.

"That's very _observant_ of you." She replied stiffly, but the Dwarf seemed to miss her mocking tone as he continued to manhandle the book, pulling at it and bending it.

"What's it about?" He asked her, flicking through the yellowed pages roughly. "Uncle is always getting me and my brother to read boring, old, dusty books that are probably older than this Mountain, but I supposed something a little more enticing might tempt me."

"It's about an adventurer."

The Dwarf scoffed, his chocolate brown eyes flicking up and watching her from under his wispy fringe, "_Really_?"

Ren frowned, "What's so funny?"

He shook his fluffy head, "_Reading_ about adventures, seems a bit... ironic, don't you think?"

"Not really." She replied stiffly, "I can't go on an adventure, but I can read about them."

The Dwarf's expression suddenly turned smug, "I've been on one."

Instantly, Ren's ears pricked, "Really?" She asked eagerly in interest, her annoyance slipping away.

The Dwarf bit his lip and let his eyes slide shamelessly over her, but Ren totally missed the look as she was too preoccupied with the prospect of the retelling of an adventure.

"Oh aye, I've met a Skin-Changer." He began, leaning over the counter once more, "And I've had a rather close encounter with a Giant Spider or two."

Ren's expression flickered for a moment, "Really?" She repeated, but this time a little disbelieving, "But only the King's Company have met a Skin-Changer, that I am aware of."

The Dwarf blinked at her, looking a little confused all over again, "Do you know who I am?"

Ren hesitated, looking him up and down as if it were some sort of trick question. Sure, he was wearing expensive and fancy looking attire, so there is a good chance he was from a wealthy-

"_No_!" Ren gasped, face heating to the colour of her scarlet dress.

Prince Kili grinned devilishly, puffing out his chest proudly a little, "Oh, aye."

Ren stared at him in utter horror, the same way you'd stare if someone had just had their head lopped off. She'd even _mocked_ him. Oh, Mahal, she'd _mocked_ the _Prince_! Not that he'd seemed to notice, but that's not the point.

Noticing her shock horror expression, Kili's grin waned.

Just like that, Ren sealed her lips, pursing them together so tight they went white. Her heart rate accelerated and anxiety built up within her. She wasn't particularly good at talking to strangers, keeping her encounters short and sweet, but _Royalty_...

Kili raised his brow at her, "Everything all right?" He asked, peering at her and leaning forward just an inch more.

Ren noticed this, and panicked, eyes wide.

"Prince Kili!" Someone suddenly called from behind him and made the Prince straighten up and turn.

_Thank goodness_, because Ren had stopped breathing, but she gasped for air as soon as the Princes attention was elsewhere.

"What are you doing?" It was another young Dwarf (whose name Ren believed to be Ori. She'd never spoken to him, but was fully aware he was one of the King's Company to retake the Mountain, never the less, Ren respected him for despite that he got on with his work like everyone else) standing in the doorway Kili had previously left through, having been doing his research in private.

"Oh," Kili beamed brightly, "I was just speaking to..." He turned around to gesture to Ren, but his sentence fell flat when he found Ren's chair to be empty. "Where did you go?" He called loudly, ignoring Ori's confused expression and looking around the library, "I still have your book!"

.

"What's up with you?" Rel's sharp voice cut through Ren like a knife, and made her drop her fork with surprise as she mashed her potato absentmindedly.

"Nothing." She mumbled, pushing her barely touched food away from her.

Her friend Frea, who was sitting across from her, eyed the plate up hungrily, "You going to eat that?"

Ren shook her head, and Frea eagerly pulled her third plate towards her.

"Are you grumpy because you've lost your book?" Rel teased.

"Oh, I thought there was something different about you. I thought it you'd had a hair cut or something, but it's just that your nose isn't stuck in a book." Frea jested, a gravy filled spoon hanging just before her lips.

Ren scowled and quickly reached forward, shoving Frea's spoon in her face and getting gravy up her nose. Immediately Rel started hooting with laughter, but Ren and Frea just glared at each other.

"What's crawled up your buttocks and died?" Frea snapped, grabbing Ren's napkin and wiping her face.

"_Nothing_." She repeated, this time sounding a little annoying.

"Whatever," Frea grunted, giving her nose a quick blow, "Ew, gravy bogies."

"That's revolting." Rel sneered, eyes flickering to Frea.

Ren wasn't paying much attention to her sister and friend however, and instead took a great interest in letting her eyes wonder the Dining Hall, following the intricate patterns of jewels that threaded the great stone walls, or the veins of gold and silver that bled through the cracks.

Erebor was definitely so much more impressive than her old home in the Iron Hills, that wasn't even a patch on this Mountain. Everywhere you looked the floors and walls glistened with riches, sparkling and winking at you as you passed.

The Dining Hall was one of the biggest rooms in the Mountain, four or five times the size of the library, but not quite as big as the Training Yard, Markets, or Tombs, but then again, those weren't really rooms, rather more like entire floors. But the Dining room had five long tables within it, the middle one being the one laden heavily and over flowing with food and ales.

There was also a sixth table, the Royal Table, which was situated at the far end of the Hall, slightly raised and horizontally placed, facing out to look over the hall. Whenever Ren was in the Dining Hall the table had always been empty, and she'd never made any move to look for Royalty herself.

Of course, she was endlessly grateful for her King and his Company reclaiming the Mountain, but she just wasn't the sort to stick her nose in other people's business. So, she just left them, and had no burning desire to hunt them down.

"I'm going to go home." Ren stated, pulling herself up from her bench before anyone could say otherwise.

"All right, stroppy, see you in a bit." Chimed Rel, and Frea threw a little chunk of bread at her as she wandered past. She shot Frea a glare over her shoulder, but didn't say anything as she left the hall.

The entire journey home she felt anxious, like a large stone was churning up in her stomach. She'd spoken to the Prince just a few hours ago, and she had been _rude_ to him. She could have kicked herself.

He intimidated her a little too, and she didn't like that. How he got all in her face so boldly, like it was a completely normal thing to do. He had no perception of personal space, clearly, and he made her feel uncomfortable with his upfront and almost garish approach. The sheer horror of the situation haunted her all evening, and well into her dreams that night.

.

The next day, Ren's anxiety had diminished a bit, despite her night being riddled with worries and woes. But, nevertheless, she was up and about, feeling surprisingly bright as she slinked into the library early that morning, a large mug of tea in each hand. One for herself, and one for Figg, the libraries main Professor and the main company she had throughout the day.

But she nearly dropped the two mugs when she spied a certain Dwarf leaning right over the side of the desk.

For a split second, Ren contemplated running behind the nearest bookcase, but it was too late, the Dwarf had heard her approach and straightened up.

"Morning." He chimed, rubbing his right eye and suppressing a yawn.

Ren stared at him like he'd just killed a puppy, and slowly started backing up, then, suddenly, she darted away.

"Hey! Wait!" She heard the Prince call, but she didn't slow her pace as she sped walked her way around the circular library, darting amongst the bookshelves whilst trying desperately not to spill the two mugs she was holding.

Ren glanced behind her, no longer hearing the thumps of the Prince following her, but, just as she did, she collided into something solid and soft.

She yelped loudly and stumbled back, hot tea spilling all over her and the other persons front. She whimpered when scolding liquid burnt her collar bone and her upper chest, instantly turning it bright red. She promptly dropped the mugs.

"Oh, Mahal!" Prince Kili hissed, eyes wide and staring at her burning chest, "I'm so sorry, erm-" Ren smacked his hand away when he began to pat at her chest. "Oh, Mahal..." He muttered again, raising his hands up in surrender, "Sorry, I didn't mean to."

Ren glared at him for a few moments longer, before scooping down, grabbing the mugs (which had bounced off the thick rug and thankfully not shattered) and stalking off.

"Wait!" Kili called, not catching Ren's attention in the slightest, "That's it?"

Ren didn't respond as she made her way back out of the library, and from behind her she heard the Prince groan loudly, followed by the sounds of heavy boots hitting the thick floor.

"Where are you going?"

_What was he doing_? She thought, _why wouldn't he go away?_

"Hey, miss, I'm talking to you." Ren could hear laugher in the Princes' tone, but also that his patience was waning. She nearly jumped when she felt a large, warm hand land on her shoulder, and she spun around so fast she nearly knocked the Prince all over again. He held his hands up again upon noticing the look of alarm on Ren's face. "Sorry." His eyes flickered nervously to her still scolding chest. "We should get you to a healer, that's going to blister."

Ren looked down at herself and frowned. Indeed, her chest had already began to blotch, and already tender blisters were already beginning to show.

"All right," She moped, turning back around and changing direction without even another glance at the Prince, but, this time she moved at a slower pace. She could still hear the boots of the Prince behind her, and before she had a chance to turn around and tell him to go away, he was at her side.

"I didn't mean to..." He began, trailing off when Ren felt his eyes fall to her chest again. _What was he still doing here?_

"You should wash your tunic before that milk starts to smell." She told him, and from the corner of her eye she saw the Princes' mouth twist into a lopsided smile.

"Do you only talk when you're giving cleaning advice?"

Ren shot him a sour glance out of the corner of her eye, and Prince Kili's smile pulled into a grin.

"I'll go and change after I've escorted you to the healers." He told her, looking almost guilty, "It's the least I can do." Again, his eyes fell to her scarlet chested.

"You needn't feel obligated, I can escort myself there, thank you." She urged almost sourly, determined to get him off her back. He was beginning to make her feel nauseous. Clearly, for one thing; he seemed to have no idea what personal space was, and secondly; he didn't seem to shut up.

"Oh, I'm sure you could. I don't doubt that you would just _ignore_ anyone who tried to kidnap you to _death_."

Ren's mouth flickered into a smile, and the Prince saw it.

"Oh, so you _can_ smile." He chuckled, brown eyes glistening from behind his messy hair. "But, nevertheless, it would be entirely improper for me to leave a pretty female as yourself to walk half way across the Mountain on her own."

Ren frowned, "So, if you thought I was ugly you wouldn't?"

"That's definitely not what I meant." Kili quickly countered, having to quicken his pace when Ren did just to keep up. Kili watched Ren for an answer, but when he got none he knew her talking time was over.

.

_i have no idea if Dwarves drink tea or not, but I imagine Ren would with all her eccentric ways. She probably would have read about tea and wanted to try it, or something, idek, just seemed better than having her drink ale at like 9 in the morning haha_

_Okay, so, as you can tell, I'm horrendous at starting stories of! So bare with me (:_

_and I haven't disappeared off the planet either, I've been away on work in Ireland for the past two weeks but now I am back and writing! The King and The Baker update is planned for Friday night *crosses fingers* and then The Prince and The Maid will be up by the end of the week. I'm working on the next Unthinkable chapter too - SO MUCH WORK SO LITTLE TIME _

_okay, anyways, let me know what you think of the chapter, I haven't moulded Ren's character yet really so she'd coming across as a bit of a wet blanket. I can assure you she's not, she'll be just as sassy as my other two xxxxxxxx_


End file.
